According to Christian Zacher, Professor of English and Director of the Humanities Institute, the Encyclopedia will provide both facts and interpretation about the Midwest for general readers, students, teachers, journalists, and community, business, and government leaders in the U.S. as well as abroad. “We expect the Encyclopedia to become a valuable resource for anyone interested in what it means to be ‘Midwestern,’ and its history and culture. This volume will include sections on landscapes and people, society and culture, community and social life, economy and technology, and public life. The Midwest has had much to do with American values and belief systems.”

An eventual web-based elaboration of the print edition will extend the educational purpose of the Encyclopedia through multimedia versions and customized instructional publications designed for a host of specific users and audiences and provide links with a wide array of archives, historical societies, libraries, departments of tourism, and museums.

The project is being directed by three General Editors: Andrew R.L. Cayton, Distinguished Professor of History, at Miami University of Ohio; Richard Sisson, Board of Trustees Chair in Comparative Politics at The Ohio State University; and Christian Zacher; and the Managing Editor, Charlotte Dihoff. A 17-member Editorial Advisory Board, two General Consulting Editors, and 22 scholars will contribute their editorial talents.

The Encyclopedia is being produced by the Humanities Institute, which works on and off campus to promote cultural understanding. Through its various projects, it aims to become a center for the investigation of both the Midwest and regionalism nationally and worldwide. The volume will be published by Indiana University Press, which is the publisher of a number of encyclopedias, including those on Indianapolis and Cleveland as well as the highly regarded book series Midwestern History and Culture.

Created in 1965 by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, the National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency whose mission is to enrich American cultural life by promoting knowledge of human history, thought and culture throughout the nation. NEH accomplishes that mission by providing grants for high-quality humanities projects in four funding areas: preserving and providing access to cultural resources, education, research and public programs. NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio stations, and to individual scholars. Over the past 35 years, the Endowment has reached millions of Americans with projects and programs that preserve and study our cultural heritage, while providing a foundation for the future.

For more information about the Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities and the Encyclopedia of the Midwest, call (614) 688-0265; e-mail eom@osu.edu; or visit www.allmidwest.org.